Three Years Hence*

*In reference to A Year Hence and Another Year Hence.

My third year at HP (April 2009 - April 2010):

MAY09 - Gebze go-live was postponed.
JUN09 - Memory gap.
JUL09 - PD held its last event.
AUG09 - PD was dissolved.
SEPT09 - Gebze RTCIS went live. Celebrated my silver year. Ondoy wreaked havoc.
OCT09 - Loan.
NOV09 - Was introduced to MusicMatch. Back to Asia shift.
DEC09 - Traveled to Singapore and India for Mandideep RTCIS. Venite Party. La Luz.
JAN10 - MusicMatch weekly addiction began.
FEB10 - Mula SAPuso. Traveled again to Singapore and India.
MAR10 - Potipot. Promotion.
APR10 - Mandideep RTCIS go-live was postponed.

Another Year Hence*

*In reference to A Year Hence

My second year at (or with) HP is way way better than my first one. Why?

1. I was pulled out of QR and got engaged in an RTCIS project. No offense to QR haha.
2. From being on Asia shift previously, I am now on EMEA (Europe/Mideast/Africa) - which means I can now sleep late and wake up late - and get paid extra for that. Bwahahahaha.
3. I got to travel outside of the Philippines - I have been to Istanbul/Gebze (and Singapore/Dubai on the side) - TWICE! One more coming up. Bwehehehehe.
4. I was part of the SAP-ADSI INGXAKI ESCAPE Committee which organized the September 2008 team building offsite at Chateau Royale in Tagaytay/Nasugbu - as co-head of Logistics.
5. I co-managed the June 2008 - Caliraya Summer Escapade for the PD team. Thanks to the whole PD Events!

...and many more.

Maybe these are the reasons why I still enjoy being with the same group of people I have been with for the past couple of years - despite the recent economic crisis and ludicrous contingency measures our senior management is currently implementing.

Now I realize, I am still contented after all. Good for me.

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I am looking forward to a better and definitely more AWESOME third year in (or with) HP. I will surely love to CZECH that out!

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HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY
HP ALL-STARS!

Chuck Was Everywhere

In line with HP's Year of Engagement, I was assigned to be the "ICON" of one of the many initiatives (in laymen's term: extra-curricular clubs/organizations) of our company - Life@HP (also known as Fun@HP). This initiative promotes Work-Life Balance to the whole HP workforce. This afternoon (August 6, 2008), I dressed up as CHUCK - the guy who virtually has every access to classified and sensitive government information. Consequently, Life@HP is giving everyone access to join any of the 9 clubs under it namely Shutters (photography), Invent Productions (video making), Jam@HP (music), Groove@HP (dance), hOOps (basketball), Badminton Club, Bowl@HP, Inpire@HP (outreach programs) and J-Club (Japanese culture).

We had a floor-to-floor (7th, 11th, 14th, 18th @SMPC Ortigas) campaign encouraging people to sign-up and join the group of their choice. Though it was embrarrasing at first, the whole experience was fun because, mostly, I dealt with folks I already know. Besides, I know that other initiatives (like Recruitment Team which I am also a part of, haha) will also push someone to do exactly the same thing that I did, hehe. In the end, one ICON will be declared as winner. I hope that the prizes are worth all the "humiliation" I encountered earlier hehehe.

So, if you're an HP employee who wants to have work-life balance - REACH OUT and BE ENGAGED. :)

Metrowalk Everyday

Well, not really everyday, but I must admit, Metrowalk has been my crib for the past couple of weekends because of my current addiction to F1 race - an addiction rekindled by my good friend Cholle.

My first time at Phi Bar was during the free viewing of Spanish Grand Prix 2008 last April 27. According to Cho, the attendance that night was considerably low - at 26. Anyway, Cho and I won a lot of prizes from the organizers (headed by Pinoy F3 and rally driver Mike Potenciano) including UNO and C! magazines (Cho actually received a free one-year subscription of C! for winning a totally honest trivia game hahaha), car cleaners (which are so useless), Toyota caps (woohoo!), BMW pouches (which my father loves), Phi Bar VIP Card (10% discount card), and 50 pesos. It was Andy (the US expat on the right) who won the money for us - he predicted the correct combination of the top 3 finishers in the right order (Kimi, Massa, Lewis). Zaldy (the guy to the right of Cholle) made a deal with us that whoever came up with the right guess should willingly split the prize money among the four of us. Too bad, Andy's bet was identical with those of 12 other people. So instead of getting the whole PhP2600 pot, we settled with just PhP200 - thus, 50 bucks for each of us. It was a great night not just for the F1 fans, but also for Scuderia Ferrari and its drivers who we were rooting for - Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. They gave Ferrari a 1-2 result that brought the team in front of the constructors' championship race.

Two weeks passed, it was May 11, the race day for the Turkish GP. Okay okay, it was Mothers' Day... so before I went to Phi to attend another free viewing, I made it sure that my whole day was spent with my mother and my family. I also managed to greet as many people, especially the moms in my phonebook, as possible through SMS - and of course birthday boy CL. Alright, back to F1... Ralph was able to join us this time (congrats, for graduating from the UP College of Business Administration). We were not so lucky this time in the raffle draws, but hey, I won in the fantasy game. I bet that Massa would win the race, Lewis would be the runner-up and Kimi coming in third - and that was the exact order of the podium finishers after they completed 58 laps of the circuit. I won PhP300... again, I did not get the whole pot of PhP2700 because 8 other contestants guessed the same combo. The prize somehow subsidized our bill for the evening - we had a bucket of beer (I think, we ordered a couple of bottles more) and a platter of thank-heaven-for-this-oh-so-yummy-nachos. Also, we all got free F2020 fuel saver (which again, is not so useful 'cause I don't have an effin' car!) and the same issue of C! mag which Cho and I got during the Spanish GP. Baduy!

Another twin-podium appearance for Ferrari - if I haven't mentioned it above, I must tell you that I am a Ferrari fan - notice the red shirts? And a Kimi fan, as well. So we headed out of Phi smiling. Scuderia Ferrari is now 19 points clear of its closest competitor BMW Sauber and 21 points ahead of long-time rival McLaren-Mercedes; Raikkonen has already amassed 35 drivers' points while Massa and Hamilton are tied in second with 28 apiece. Then we spent an hour in El Pueblo eating ice cream and fries while reminiscing the good old times and planning future gimiks/outings where hopefully, more Barkadahan peeps will be able to attend. After some deliberations, it's final - we'll be in Galera on the 30th of May until the 1st of June. Details to follow my friends. Hehe.

I was also in Metrowalk last Saturday, at Elbow Room specifically, for OJ and Nel's pre-wedding party. Vernon & Mshel, Daniel & Felise, Philip & Dae, Cheson, Elaine (OJ's sister) and other friends of the bride were there to celebrate the couple's last few days of singlehood. The food was insane - it was terrific! Got some booze, played some billiards and joined in fun games that fit the theme of the party - shower/stag party in one hahaha.

I can't wait for OJ and Nel's wedding which will be held on Sunday, May 18th at the Fort Bonifacio Officers' Clubhouse. I, too, can't wait for the Monaco GP race day on May 25th. I invite both F1 and non-F1 fans out there for another free viewing at Phi. The race commences at 8pm.

Hopefully, this week, I'll be able to watch Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and Harold and Kumar.

That's all from me tonight... until then!

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PS: Thanks Cholle and Mark, for all the pictures. I am still waiting for Mike's pictures. For more F1 viewing images, visit this link. :)

PPS: To all grammar police out there, please proofread my article 'cause I composed it during the wee hours of the night (which is getting more usual these days) while my brain was already ready to shutdown. :P

A Year Hence

...and nothing's changed.

Or has something?

Parties Here, There, Everywhere

Christmas Parties everywhere, everyday.

Dec 13 - HP SAP-ADSI Christmas CoffeeTalk at the Peninsula Manila in Makati
Dec 14-15 - HP SAP-ADSI-PD Christmas Offsite at Tom's Resort in Montalban, Rizal
Dec 18 - HP GDPC Christmas Party at One Esplanade in Pasay
Dec 19 - New Hires' Grand Pakain at SMPC
Dec 20 - PD-MMCS-IM/3PL Ultimate Party at Ordoñez's Place in Antipolo
Dec 21 - HP SAP-ADSI-PD Food Trip at SMPC

Buhay baboy na naman...

I'll upload all the photos soon. And I really mean ALL. Haha.

Here, There, Everywhere... Six Months Hence

Six months has passed since I had my last haircut... I had another one last Saturday.

Six months has passed since I took my licensure examination... I am now a licensed non-practicing ECE.

Six months has passed since my first day in HP... I am hoping to be regularized this coming fiscal year.

Six months hence... time indeed flies so quickly.

A Night To Remember

What's a better way to celebrate my birthday (and my ECE Board Exam success which is 5 months overdue already) than to celebrate with my family, relatives, friends, classmates and officemates?

Last night, around 50 individuals who are all close to me gathered in my house to dine, drink, sing the night out, nine days after my real birth date last September 6. From my nuclear and extended family (including my 1-month old nephew Sebastian, son of my Ate Che) to my HP clique (Ria, MarkO and sister Mindy, Warren&Kath, Primo&Odz, AJ, and Kat) to my UP colleagues (Carlo, Liz --> thanks for the hopia Liz, my mom liked it, and Jeff --> thanks for the cake Jeff and Tin) to my high school gang (Jam, Zasha, Gale, Adrian, JC, and bestfriend Arolf) to my cousins and nephews/nieces (Almond&Karen, Beth, Boknoy, Elda, Rica, Kiko, and Ate Leah) to my tropa at home (Motel, Jep, Chester, Loist, Tarapo, Maki, Odong, Kuya Gie, JR, Mhe, Kulot, Emem, Chinnie --> thanks for all the help, and Apple) were there to make that moment a night to remember.

Videoke was the "main event" of the party, and I think everyone has got the chance to sing at least once. There were lots of booze and food, I hope everyone has satiated their taste buds and thirsty throat. I apologize if ever anyone experienced some inconveniences, especially, searching for my place here in Taguig. Next year, I promise a better party and a larger venue for a larger group of friends.

I wish, those who were present last night will still be there on my 24th birthday next year, and those who were not, will be there as well.

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"Mahirap magkaroon ng maraming kaibigan, ngunit walang anumang makatutumbas sa sarap ng pagkakaroon nito." Naks. :)

No good-byes... only see you soon!

My friends-blockmates-orgmates-01/berkmates Marien and May will pursue their respective masters studies abroad this year. May has left the country few hours ago to take up Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at Ohio State University. Marien, on the other hand, will have her flight tomorrow morning for Singapore where she will take up Master in Engineering. She is a scholar of Asian Universities Network - Southeast Asian Education Development (AUN-SEED) at the National University of Singapore. They organized joint and separate despedidas (Marien at least had her "pakain") this month of July.

To both of you, good luck and God bless.

Visit my multiply account for pictures.

Athlete???

I have never been this athletic in my entire life. I had been known as a nerdy geek since the day I entered kindergarten, or even before any formal schooling. My mother always boasts that I learned how to read when I was barely three years old and I finished the ABAKADA booklet months before she enrolled me to a public school in 1990. To make the long story short, I had never excelled in, or worse - had never got the chance to learn how to play, any sports discipline during my childhood. It's not that I was lampa, or in more colloquial term - malata, actually I know for a fact that I have an above-average endurance and an acceptable physical strength; it's just that I did not have the time then, and/or I guess, the resources to enroll in sports clinics and learn the basics of those games. The only thing I developed during those years is my mental strength - yes, I was the Valedictorian of my kindergarten, grade school, and high school batches.

Throughout the course of my academic life, I just relied on TV and print materials for me to learn the rules and regulations of the sports that caught my interest - badminton, basketball, billiards, boxing, lawn and table tennis, volleyball, etc. Back then, the only event I mastered was... CHESS! Hehe. I told myself, once I finished my studies or at least stepped into college, I would definitely and finally be able to find time and resources to be physically active in sports and not just be a spectator. During high school, I learned the basics of basketball, table tennis, and volleyball - but just the basics. During college, I somehow did well in billiards, bowling and other Philippine indigenous games and made running and walking a part of my everyday life.

But I know it was not enough. I was starting to grow bigger-and-heavier. I must sweat all my fats out and the only way to accomplish the task is to be more physically active. Thank God, at HP, the mission is far from impossible. I was admitted to Gold's Gym Fitness program starting from my first month in the company. I became more serious in bowling - having been included in SAP-ADSI's roster of players in the OlymHPics. We're practicing twice a week in preparation for our first game on Saturday. In fact, my schedule this week is: Tuesday - bowling and gym, Wednesday - gym, Thurday - bowling and gym, Saturday - bowling and/or tennis, Sunday - DotA. Haha.

Hopefully, months from now, a hunkier ONIN will emerge from these activities.

Fun Here, There, Everywhere

Fun /'f&n/ (noun) 1 : what provides amusement or enjoyment; specifically : playful often boisterous action or speech fun>; 2 : a mood for finding or making amusement fun>; in our team, Physical Distribution and ABAP, I am one of the pioneers of Fun@PD/A.

Fun@PD/A, a smaller spin-off of Fun@HP and Fun@ADSI, is a group of fun-loving individuals who do nothing but laugh and laugh in the office. Well, nothing, of course, is an exaggeration.

Last Friday, PD/A held its own offsite-cum-team-building-cum-birthday-party-cum-happy-hour at the penthouse of One Wilson Place Condominium where Jim Cheng's family stays.

Fun Fun Fun Friday!!!

To see the pictures and videos, just visit my multiply site.

Idle Here, There, Everywhere

Idle /'I-d&l/ (adjective) 1 : lacking worth or basis : vain ; 2 : not occupied or employed: as a : having no employment : inactive b : not turned to normal or appropriate use c : not scheduled to compete ; 3 a : shiftless, lazy b : having no evident lawful means of support.

Idleness is what we, HP new hires, experience here at the office. Some say it's a usual happening especially when one is in an entry-level position. But somehow, I feel a bit guilty just sitting down, surfing the net, and blogging/chatting to kill time. On Friday, another payday comes. I will once again enjoy a salary for attending trainings once in a while and for bumming around the office halls. To tell you the truth, upon arriving to my cubicle, my batchmates would instantly invite me for a coffee break and after a brief email checking, lunch break na! WTF!?!? Haha.

Anyway, to lessen my guilt, many of my upperclass officemates told me that once I assume the responsibility that I would suppose to takeover and once our assigned project kick-off, I would definitely miss these idle moments of my HP life.

So, Onin, enjoy the moment while it still lasts.

Offsite Here, There, Everywhere

Offsite /of-'sIt/ (noun), not located or occurring at the site of a particular activity; in HP terminologies, an offsite is a team building seminar, outing/swimming, or any out-of-town leisure/vacation activity that caters relaxation and recreation for its work-force.

The HP GDPC's SAP-ADSI Team (Applications Development and Systems Integration) held its Summer Offsite at Subic's Grande Island last June 1 and 2, 2007. It was my first HP offsite since being hired last April 16.

Almost 300 people - divided into 5 teams, appropriately named after five (in)famous Pirates of the Caribbean (Hector Barbossa, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, Cruikshank, Jack Rackham, and Spiredyke) battled for the ultimate championship through accumulated golds earned by winning pirate games, fashion shows and team combat competitions.

New hires, like me, presented another dance number also known as "The Baptism of Fire". Our stay in Subic also saw us enjoying the buffet, indulging with free flowing SanMigBeer, girl-scouting/chick-sight-seeing, having photo-ops, playing in the "Stanley Ho" poker tourney, and celebrating the birthday of our dear PD/A Manager Mylene.

Even with insufficient sleep or no sleep at all, this offsite is one hell of an out-of-town trip.

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Want visuals? Visit my multiply site.

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This Friday, June 8, the Physical Distribution + ABAP (PD/A) Team will conduct another offsite aka Team Building at One Wilson Place Condominium in Greenhills. See you there!

The Week(NEVER)ends

Thursday:

HP Global Delivery Philippines Center held its quarterly Coffee Talk at the Makati Sports Club last May 24. I got to see my friends who are also working at HP like CL, Marien, Mhyko, Tupe, and others. Also, as a new hire at HP, I am required to join my fellow newbies in a dance presentation/competition where we showcased our hidden talents (or the lack of those).

After the said conference, our team in HP, Logistics and Warehouse Solutions (or Physical Distribution and Advanced Business Applications Programming) had a dinner at Dads/Saisaki/Kamayan in Glorietta. Again, as a new-hire, I experienced being on the hot seat as the "old" ones barged us with questions regarding our personal lives. Haha.

Friday:

One whole day of programming examination in SAP-ABAP.

Saturday:

I went to the office on a Saturday morning to have another practice for the dance the new hires will have to present on the SAP-ADSI Offsite at the Grande Island Resort in Subic, Zambales on the first two days of June. At 3:00pm, I readied myself to yet another weekend happening with my college friends.

Glenn arrived from Canada more than a week ago; to welcome his presence, May and Liz organized a Tagaytay Highlands getaway for the whole Barkadahan. Because of tight budget and busy schedules of most of the 01's, only eight of us showed up. Arpee, Glenn, Marien, and May met at the EEE Building and then went on the road to fetch me at Ortigas and Norman at Ayala (Jim was with Norman but he chose not to join us because of a last minute text message from one of his siblings). Danes and Liz came together to Tagaytay Rotonda where we met them a few minutes past midnight.

We bowled and attempted to swim at the Tagaytay Sports Club, dined and enjoyed (did we?) the live band at Cafe Lupe, had a road trip around the Cavite with Glenn's Land Cruiser's roof open, and then played and chatted and ate and slept all night long at Glenn's pad at Belle View.

Sunday:

As Arpee, Glenn, May, and Marien headed to attend a mass and have an early breakfast, I, Danes, Liz, and Norman indulged into the luxury of staying at Glenn's very comfy place. Preparing for a trip home, we decided to stop over the Hillside Tower where we munched a couple of french fries platters and took several pictures with the picturesque scenery behind us. We passed by Sta. Rosa for a late lunch and then headed straight home at around 4:00pm.

My two cute pamangkins (a niece - Teriz, and a nephew - Wacky) welcomed me home with tight hugs and kisses. They are having a vacation at our house until Teriz's schooling starts in June.

Monday:

Another work week starts... and will never end either.

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To see the Tagaytay images, visit Glenn's MULTIPLY account.

Moolah

I got my first pay from HP yesterday. Unfortunately, it's diminishing in a very fast rate, like an exponential decay...

LGN

I was admitted to HP's Gold's Gym fitness program. The benefit came in perfect timing as the HP SAP-ADSI umbrella group (one of the two HP teams in San Miguel Propeties Center Ortigas) goes to Grande Island Resort in Subic, Zambales on June 1 and 2. I must look good naked (Ige's terminology) before that summer event.

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I watched Spider-Man 3 last night with my fellow new hires at Shangri-La Mall's Cineplex. Like its two prequels, the film is high-budgeted (advertised as the most expensive motion picture of all time) and overflowing with special effects. For me, it is the best of the three Spider-Man movies or even the best superhero movie ever. I admit that I am a huge fan of Spidey and his love story with MJ, that's why I was carried away by the dramas featured in the movie.

The third installment's storyline was the best of the three, not to mention the inclusion of three villains, tag-team fight scenes and unexpected twists. The conclusion was a combination of tragedy and happy-ending and my favorite director, Sam Raimi, lets us imagine our own final scene for the two protagonists.

I guess, it's all I can say so as not to spoil my readers who have not yet seen the movie.

*Do you recall the wrestling ring announcer in Spider-Man 1 and the obnoxious theatre usher in Spider-Man 2? He once again appeared in Spider-Man 3 as the Frenchman waiter/receptionist of Restaurant Constellation. He is none other than Bruce Campbell a.k.a. Ashley Williams of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy. He also appeared as Liam Neeson's alter-ego in Sam Raimi's Darkman. Haha. I am really a fan of Sam Raimi.

*Stan Lee, one of the two creators of Spider-Man, also had a cameo as the pedestrian who talked to Peter Parker in front of one of New York's theatres.

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On May 7, I, with 888 other ECE board passers, will be officially inducted to the Board of Electronics and Communications Engineers of the Philippines. The oath taking will be held at the Fiesta Pavilion of The Manila Hotel - that is why, the admission tickets are sold at a whopping PhP900 each.

From then on, call me Engineer Eustaquio, ECE # 39710...

...Signing On!!!